But it was Archie, the creation of an eccentric radio writer-director named Ed Gardner, who refined the insult and made it an art form. When the tavern was visited by noted critic Clifton Fadiman {the similarity of whose name to Clifton Finnegan needed no elaboration}, Archie greeted him with "Whaddaya know, besides everything?" Dancer Vera Zorina was introduced as "da terpsicorpse from da ballet." To heavyweight party-giver Elsa Maxwell, Archie quipped, "Speakin' of th' Four Hundred, how're you and the other 398?" About highbrow music critic Deems Taylor, Archie informed Duffy: "He's got no talent of his own, he just talks about the other guys at the Philharmonica."
( John Dunning )
[ On the Air: The Encyclopedia ]
www.QuoteSweet.com